7th Pay Commission In West Bengal: What Does It Mean For Government Employees?

7th PAY COMMISSION: The new West Bengal cabinet has approved the 7th pay commission, and it is likely to bring several benefits to government employees. West Bengal’s new BJP government, headed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has taken a decision to implement the 7th Pay Commission for the state government employees, which would help narrow the pay gap between the state government employees and the Central government. It is one of the first big decisions taken by the newly-constituted BJP government of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to form the Seventh State Pay Commission to revise the pay structure of the state government employees. The West Bengal cabinet on Monday, May 18, approved the formation of the same. 

How will 7th Pay Commission benefit government employees?

With the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission in West Bengal, lakhs of government officers and pensioners are hoped to enjoy significant financial ease. The reason for the move is to adjust pay, pensions and allowances to reflect increasing inflation and Central government pay arrangements. The state government is reportedly mulling salary hikes, parity with Dearness Allowance (DA) and arrears among other demands of the employee unions, which have been the staples for years.

The proposed structure will offer improved HRA and medical benefits as well as a revised fitment factor that enables employees to earn higher pay. The issue of DA is more relevant, owing to the fact that presently the DA received by the employees of West Bengal is less than that received by Central government employees.

Women to receive free bus passes

Women will receive complimentary bus passes. The cabinet also agreed in principle to provide free travel to women in all the state-run government buses from June 1. During the meeting, another big welfare initiative was cleared, which was under the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, the Annapurna Yojana.

No religion-based schemes 

In other major steps, the government announced the closure of the religious classification-based assistance schemes in the Information and Cultural Affairs Department and the Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education Department. The schemes will run for this month, but will be halted from next month.

DA issue not addressed in cabinet meeting

Contrary to the expectations of government officials, the issue of DA was not raised during the cabinet meeting. It is expected to be addressed separately at a later stage, as per multiple reports. 

Process for new OBC list enquiry to commence

In another decision, the cabinet agreed to examine the percentage of reservations for OBCs in government positions in the state. The government stated that the OBC list and sub-categorisation would be re-examined. Agnimitra Paul stated that fresh enquiries would be made and that the state would take decisions as per the instructions of the Calcutta High Court for including the communities in the OBC list. 

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